THE DEADLINE FOR 2018 BRUSSELS STUDY TOUR APPLICATIONS WILL BE Friday MARCH 2nd. FOR QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TOUR, PLEASE CONTACT EUROPE@UNC.EDU.

Each year, the UNC Center for European Studies chooses a cohort of UNC undergraduate students, NC K-12 teachers, NC community college instructors, and NC HBCU/MSI faculty to join a study tour to Brussels, Belgium. This tour, organized by the University of Pittsburgh's European Study Center (and formerly by UNC-CH) is a five-day professional development opportunity to learn about the European Union in collaboration with university partners from across the nation. For those students and educators with a strong interest in European Studies, this study tour will provide you with the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge and experiences to further your understanding of Europe and the European Union.

The Brussels Study Tour is by no means a leisure tour. You will have high-level briefings with EU officials and make important networking connections, while having fun along the way. Most grantees choose to travel before or after the tour as a separate vacation, and many students use the tour as a springboard to further independent travel, study abroad, or an international internship.

These study tour grants provide reimbursement for one transatlantic flight up to $1000; group hotel arrangements for the duration of the tour and all programmatic costs are also covered by the grant. Meals, incidentals, and any additional travel costs remain the responsibility of the grantee.

Educator participants will be asked to create a lesson plan or course module, reflecting new content learned from the tour.

Save the Date for the 2018 Tour! Sunday, June 17 – Saturday, June 23, 2018

The application will go live by the end of December.

To get an idea of what the tour may possibly be like, please look at a sampleitinerary from the 2017 tour. Please note that the 2018 tour will not be exactly the same cite visits or structure, but of a similar caliber and quality. Those who have been selected for the tour will be contact with more details as the 2018 tour plans are finalized.

"Overall, I had a fantastic time and learned a tremendous amount about the EU and the EU/US relations. I'm very grateful for this opportunity." - 2017 Participant

"It is evident most people do not know the different levels of integration and it needs to be taught more clearly to Americans - and perhaps some Europeans as well." - 2017 Participant

"I am much more interested in teaching about the EU now that I've had this experience. I feel more confident in addressing issues and having students ask me questions about the EU." - 2016 K-12 Participant

The Center for European Studies is looking for students with a pre-established interest in contemporary Europe and the transatlantic relationship; this should be evident in your coursework and recommendation.

Secondly, we are looking for worthy ambassadors for the state of North Carolina. We want dynamic, professional, whip-smart students to represent our state abroad.

The Center for European Studies supports the Opening Access and Breaking Barriers Initiative, a major pan-university effort to significantly increase the number of traditionally underrepresented students who have access to global opportunities.

There are three main qualities we are looking for in a K-12 applicant:

1. Impact on students - how will the information learned and connections made on this trip reach the students?
2. Teacher impact - how will this opportunity impact the applicant, both professionally and personally?
3 Multiplier effects - how will the resources, information, and connections reach the applicant's community of teachers at their school or in their district?

Many times, because of these three priorities, selected applicants come from either rural districts or Title I schools. However, any strong applicant should be prepared to address these questions.

In a Community College applicant, we are looking for many of the same qualities as in K-12 teachers: impact on students, personal and professional impact on the applicant, and multiplier effects. However, a strong CC applicant should also have a documented academic interest in contemporary Europe as shown in their CV.

Brussels Study Tour grants and programming are made possible by generous funding from the European Union through the Getting to Know Europe grant.